Service industries were a major contributor to the gains
Canada’s real gross domestic product posted a 0.3% month-over-month gain in May, building on the 0.1% increase seen in April, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
Twelve out of 20 industrial sectors posted increases, StatCan said. Despite the decline of 0.3% in goods-producing industries, service industries more than made up for this with a 0.5% upswing.
“A rebound in wholesale and public administration helped boost GDP, with the latter bouncing back in May as most federal government workers who were on strike returned to work by the end of April,” StatCan said. “Moreover, gains in manufacturing and real estate and rental and leasing also helped boost growth.”
The agency added that the federal government public administration subsector represented much of the public sector’s 0.6% gain in May.
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On the other hand, the mining, quarrying, and oil/gas extraction sectors were the most significant drags to growth in May, with a decline of 2.9%.
“Many companies, specifically in Alberta, reduced operations as a result of forest fires in the province,” StatCan said.
The energy sector went down by 2.1% in May, its first decline in five months and its largest since August 2020.
June GDP anticipated to fall
StatCan reported that preliminary information pointed to a 0.2% drop in June.
“The decrease was driven by the wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors, whose downward movements more than offset the increases recorded in May,” the agency said.
At the same time, “these decreases were partially offset by increases in oil and gas extraction as well as in the real estate and rental and leasing sector in June,” StatCan noted. “This advance information indicates a 0.3% increase in real GDP by industry in the second quarter of 2023.”
